Saturday, February 25, 2017

I know, I know, you assumed Ross and Rachel would be the winner here, but to be honest, while they are pretty terrible, they aren't anywhere close to being the worst. This was almost a tie, because Ross and Janice was pretty terrible, but the difference between them and who my final choice ended up being, though, is that the relationship was purposefully awful, an example of how fucked up Ross was after his divorce from Emily. Thankfully, it only lasted a single episode, unlike my actual least favorite couple.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

You know, last challenge made me think that today's choice was gonna be hard because Season Ten was such a crap bag, but upon rewatch, I was surprised at the one episode I would have assumed would be my favorite because, well ... you'll see.

And now we're getting into my two least favorite seasons, so this is gonna be a bit of a tough one. It's not that there weren't quality episodes (as a matter of fact, the one I chose for this season's favorite is one of those), it's just that they were so few and far between that it's easy to forget that either Nine or Ten had any good episodes. For tomorrow's challenge, I definitely had to scrounge.

Remember how on Day 13, I said that I was competitive? Well, that has not changed since then, and that should make my favorite episode from Season Eight fairly obvious, so I'm not even going to hide the picture behind the cut! You are welcome!

The cracks were beginning to show in Season Six, but they were definitely a major problem in Season Seven. The episodes weren't bad just yet, but they were just so mediocre that it's hard to remember them specifically. I actually had to go back and rewatch the entire season to see which one was my favorite. And I kinda just settled on one, which is kinda sad, but I needed to complete this challenge, so here we go.

See, I am trying to catch up! My goal is to have all of these posts completely finished by the end of the month, and by gum, I'm gonna do it.

I feel like the Thanksgiving episodes of Friends were always some of the best. The first season's anti-Thanksgiving kind of set the bar high, but generally, they improved with each season. And Season Six did not disappoint even remotely; it may even be a contender for my favorite episode of the entire series. I mean, it's not, obviously. You'll have to wait for Day 20 to see what that is.

By the time the fifth season comes around, any excuse to watch Ross humiliate himself is enough for me to sit down with a bag of freshly popped popcorn. When he sabotaged flirting with the pizza delivery woman Caitlin in "The One Where Ross Can't Flirt," I guffawed as he started babbling about the smell that's added to gas because 1) who hasn't flirted awkwardly and 2) it's Ross making an ass out of himself.

I am a naturally competitive person. Today, actually, I got into a kind-of argument with The Boy about whether or not corn was really considered a vegetable, and while he couldn't care less if he was right, I was very passionate about my correctness*. It's a curse in more ways than one, but it keeps my life interesting.

Monday, February 20, 2017

This post was supposed to be a happy message, one that I'd been keeping to myself before springing it on you guys with barely contained enthusiasm.

This was supposed to be a pregnancy announcement.

My due date was 9/20/2017, although it was probably closer to the beginning of October. Against all advice, I'd already decided on names. We told both of our families. I told my employer. My god, we were both so excited. It wasn't planned, of course, but that didn't dilute any part of our happiness. I was going to be a mother.

But this Monday, my body decided that it wasn't going to happen. After a whole night of severe bleeding and cramping, I spent nearly all day on Tuesday in the ER, barely able to walk because of the pain. The blood test verified that my hcg levels had decreased dramatically, and any hope I'd held onto that this was just a warning to take it easier was lost. The next day, I took another sick day and slept as often as I could in between the cramps and trips to the bathroom to change out bloody pads. And oh, did I cry.

I know that miscarriage is common - at least one in four pregnancies end that way - but that doesn't make it any easier. My OBGYN was empathetic and kind, letting me know that there was nothing I did wrong and there was nothing I could have done, but I had grown so attached to the little thing inside my uterus. Only four days prior, I had seen it in an ultrasound; it looked like a little deformed seahorse, and I'd cried looking at it. That was my little deformed seahorse.

I'm feeling somewhat better today, a bit closer to emotionally normal, although my doctor told me my body wouldn't be back to itself for a few months. I'm still exhausted, and every now and then, I have a mood swing. Like yesterday, I bawled because UPS sent back my package after trying to deliver my A&P I lab kit while I was at work (seriously??), and the day before, I was ridiculously confident that I could do one of my marathon walks but only made it down the block before wanting to crawl back into bed for seventeen hours. In some ways, I'm ... glad isn't the word, but it's all I can think of right now, because I'm going back to school full-time in the fall (nursing school or bust, y'all) and I took a job that does not provide insurance so the pregnancy would be considered a pre-existing condition, making it difficult to find affordable health insurance options. That doesn't change the sadness I feel right now, and I suppose only time will help with that. And maybe someday in the near future, I'll carry a baby to term, welcoming it with open arms.

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Ah, Season Three, where the writers got over freshman awkwardness and tweaked their skills into creating some of the more memorable episodes of the early seasons. They had a bigger budget (as evidenced by better sets, more expensive wardrobes, and famous guest stars, just to name a few things), and the success of the show brings more of that, getting more extravagant as it progressed. But it really is at its best when the six main characters are showcased by themselves in a familiar location.

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Like I've said before, Season Two is when the show really figured out what it was doing. Season One was an experiment, introducing the audience to six flawed people trying to navigate the waters of adulthood. It's not the best season, by far, but I can honestly say that I can watch the whole season without skipping an episode, so that makes it solid in my book.

What I consider the best out of the bunch, though, shouldn't come as a surprise, since I'm pretty sure most people agree with me. Even though I've never really understood why Ross and Rachel ever got together - and honestly, her dumping him because of the infamous list was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen - "The One with the Prom Video" gave me kind of a reason to believe it made sense.

Friday, February 10, 2017

Yay, it's my favorite part of this challenge! Starting from the beginning (singsongy a very good place to staarrrrt), we get to meet the gang and their various issues, ranging from job woes to antagonistic relationships, and I really do feel like, at least at this point, the writers really knew how to create relatable characters. The pilot wasn't the best I've ever seen (that would have to go to Orphan Black, which kept me at the edge of my seat nearly the whole time), but it established pretty much all we had to know. Of course, we don't really get to the "classic" episodes until later, but what really hooked me on the show was "The One with George Stephanopoulos."

Thursday, February 9, 2017

I think this should just go without saying, but I made this challenge list, so I guess I have to answer it. Season 10 is by far the worst season, and that's saying something, especially considering the dismal nature of Season 9. Like I said yesterday, I'll describe more of why it's my least favorite season on Day 19 (my favorite episode of this season), but as a teaser, I'll just say this:

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Of course there's a tie* on this one. I'm not going to go too in depth with this post because I'll discuss each season more when I get to my favorite episode of each, but here you go:

Season Five: I absolutely love the beginning of Monica and Chandler's relationship, and even though Ross starts to deteriorate here, he's not completely unbearable just yet.
Season Eight: I think this is probably the most character development we get for Rachel for the latter half of the series, and the show is just so consistently funny during this season.

* Honorable Mention: Season 2. I think this is where the show really hit its stride.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

First of all, Happy 29th birthday, Mommy! You inspire me in so many ways, and I hope your day is as awesome as you are! I love you!

Now, onto the challenge.

I think that the two-parter in Season Two was pretty much universally panned because of too many guest stars, just kind of showing off that, "Hey, look how popular we are!" to everyone, and I can't necessarily disagree. It was probably one of the weaker episodes for many reasons, and while Julia Roberts' performance was a bit over-the-top, the other major guest star was just ... awful.

Monday, February 6, 2017

There were some pretty amazing guest stars on Friends (and some pretty terrible ones, too), and it is difficult to narrow it down to just one. Normally, I'd make this a tie because, hey, it's my blog and therefore only my rules apply, but this time, I'm actually going to make a choice*.

Sunday, February 5, 2017

This was actually hard because at various points in the series, I either love or hate all three of the main dudes. Overall, though, I have to say Ross, but like with Rachel, I feel like this was the writers' faults. I already touched on this back on Day 3, but it's like suddenly, Ross, the caring father and actually pretty decent boyfriend, turned into a neurotic mess that somehow managed to keep relationships with his closest friends, despite what seemed to be him sabotaging everything around him. I guess that's the problem with comedies, unless we're talking It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, where all the characters are absolutely terrible. You're not supposed to empathize with those characters; you just enjoy how awful and self-centered they are. But for some reason, I'm supposed to feel for Ross' plight. Nope. Not gonna happen.

Like I have already said, I am going through a divorce, and yes, a lot of the emotional abuse I dealt with has clouded my perceptions. I destroyed a possible romance through my actions (although I discovered another in the process), and many of my friends nearly abandoned me because of it. I do not blame them in the least; I was irresponsible and callous and self-destructive. But I'm not Ross. I apologized, got into therapy, etc., and while my life isn't perfect, I've found new direction and love and acceptance. It can be fucking done. But I don't think the writers wanted to actually solve anything or have Ross grow as a person, which I find reprehensible. He doesn't even have to suffer the consequences! Ugh.

Okay, I have to stop now because it's late and I really don't want to go on some rant about a character I can't really stand. So good night, everybody!

Friday, February 3, 2017

This one is a bit harder for me to do than with Phoebe because she was so consistently awesome, and the guys change so much through the series that it's difficult to pick the one I like the whole time. So I'm going to go ahead and pick two, splitting the series in half.

Thursday, February 2, 2017

This should not really come as a surprise to anyone who knows me, even in a very superficial sense, because it's probably always one of the first things I say to you upon meeting me: I love Phoebe Buffay.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

I was only 9 or 10 when Friends first came on the air, and honestly, I wasn't really allowed to watch it. Well, that I'm not 100% sure of because I never asked, but based on the fact that everyone was having lots of premarital sex, starting with the first episode, I'm fairly certain that I would have received a resounding NO from the parental units. I watched my Doug and Double Dare and Clarissa Explains It All and Legends of the Hidden Temple like any kid in the early 90s did, and nobody really talked about it at school, so it wasn't like I was missing anything. I can't say that I wish I had been introduced to the show when I was that young because, honestly, I probably would have gotten bored with it. I can just imagine myself saying, "They're just sitting around at a coffee place and talking. And there are no dragons? Or obstacle courses? What is even the point?"